Beowulf (Devil Arm)



The Beowulf is a set of flash gauntlets and greaves Devil Arm appearing in Devil May Cry 3 which originates from Beowulf. It is able to use chargeable light-based attacks using its technique blessed with the sacred light. It is wielded by both Vergil and Dante during the course of the game.

Vergil starts the game with this Devil Arm in his scenario of Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition.

Beowulf the Lightbeast
One of the gatekeepers of Temen-ni-gru, half-blinded and sealed away for 2000 years by Sparda, Beowulf is a winged beast who anxiously awaits his chance at revenge. He possesses overwhelming strength and a variety of light attacks.

When Dante enters Beowulf's chamber, he senses that Dante has "Sparda's blood", and attacks. Dante defeats and blinds Beowulf, but when Beowulf tries to chase down Sparda's scent he instead finds Vergil. Assuming him to still be Dante, he tries to "annihilate every last blood relation of Sparda". However, Vergil immediately kills Beowulf and the demon falls apart, realizing his mistake. Vergil then takes Beowulf's soul as a Devil Arm. Dante later obtains it after Arkham activates the Temen-ni-gru and Vergil falls into an abyss.

Background
Beowulf is the Geatish hero of the Old English poem of the same name. This poem is famous for being the oldest known piece of English literature. It appears that Beowulf and Geryon had their names switched, as Devil May Cry 3 Beowulf more closely resembles the description of Geryon given in the Divine Comedy, while the legendary Beowulf would be more similar to the Devil May Cry 3 Geryon's rider.

The design for Devil May Cry 3 Beowulf is based on Pazuzu, a Sumerian demon.

Trivia

 * A poster of a Beowulf movie can be seen in Dante's office in Devil May Cry 4.
 * Beowulf is one of the few weapons which had more than one wielder. Others are Sparda (Force Edge), Yamato, Kalina Ann, Rebellion and Ebony (last two are questionable, as Vergil "wields" them only for a few moments).
 * Gilgamesh from Devil May Cry 4 and Ifrit from original Devil May Cry can be considered as analogs of Beowulf, as they have similar attributes and even share some moves.
 * Among the bosses in Devil May Cry 3, Beowulf is the only one who is killed in order to give up his soul as a devil arm.
 * Some of the moves are allusions to those found in Street Fighter and some of SNK's fighters:
 * Zodiac: Ryu, Ken, and Akuma's Hadoken
 * Rising Dragon: Ryu, Ken, and Akuma's Shouryuken
 * Lunar Phase: Ryu, Ken, and Akuma's Tatsumaki Senku Kyaku, Rugal's Genocide Cutter
 * Volcano: Terry Bogard's Round Wave and Akuma's Kongo Kokuretsu Zan
 * Real Impact: Ryu's Shin Shouryuken
 * Tornado: Ryu's Shinkuu Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku
 * Hyper Fist: Fist of the North Star's Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken (北斗百裂拳, North Star Hundred Crack Fist)